Bledisloe Cup: Wallabies punished for woeful errors as All Blacks ensure Eden Park hoodoo lives on
The Wallabies’ 36-year Eden Park hoodoo has continued in mortifying fashion. So what is it about Eden Park that makes Australia self-combust?
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The Wallabies’ 36-year Eden Park hoodoo has continued, with the All Blacks making their trans-Tasman neighbours pay for embarrassing mistakes by sealing an emphatic 40-14 victory, ending the Bledisloe Cup rugby series 2-0 for New Zealand.
What is it about Eden Park that makes Wallabies sides self-combust?
The Wallabies were horrible from start to finish, making 15 handling errors to the All Blacks’ six while also conceding two first-half yellow cards that had them chasing their tails from the outset.
Acting Wallabies captain James Slipper described the performance as “very disappointing” while his front-row teammate Allan Alaalatoa said he was “gutted”.
Sam Whitelock’s men, meanwhile, showed the same precision and ruthlessness they displayed in 2019 where, with the Bledisloe Cup on the line, they scored a 36-0 blackout win.
On that night they withstood an early raid from the Wallabies, but turnovers killed them and once again there was a sense of deja vu on Saturday night in Auckland as those same mistakes came home to roost once more.
Nothing went right for Dave Rennie’s side — whose winning percentage has slumped to 37.9 from 29 Tests in charge — where the wheels fell off after a gritty start.
The Wallabies laid down a marker in Melbourne with their courageous, rousing and spirited performance in Bledisloe I on September 15, losing 39-37.
Who Rennie turns to will be fascinating?
The Wallabies have five Tests left this year to take some momentum into next year’s World Cup.
For now there can only be subtle tweaks, with Quade Cooper and Samu Kerevi out for the rest of the season while Marika Koroibete will likely head to Japan to prepare for next season’s League One competition.
Whether Bernard Foley, or even captain Michael Hooper is a part of the tour, remains to be seen.
One player who must play a greater part is former NRL star Suliasi Vunivalu, who has been regularly looked over by Rennie.
But Tom Wright’s poor night at the office should be enough for Rennie to turn to his hulking winger, regardless of how poor he might be at training.
While Kurtley Beale is another who looks likely to return to the 23 after making a successful return for a Waratahs side against the Brumbies on Saturday.
The Wallabies held on by the skin of their teeth in the opening stages after Jed Holloway’s early yellow card for a lifting tackle, but despite their stoicism they weren’t clinical enough to take their chances.
Harry Wilson spilt a ball when the Wallabies came hunting and from that moment forth the home side were lambs to the slaughter.
Will Jordan skipped past reserve Jordan Petaia, who came on early for Lalakai Foketi, and the All Blacks were out to a 10-0 head start for the second straight week. Foketi’s injury hurt the Wallabies’ attack significantly.
This time they didn’t let the lead go, with Mo’unga making Tom Wright pay for a stupid decision to play on quickly from a penalty when nothing was on.
In the blink of an eye the All Blacks were at the other end of the field and soon enough hooker Dave Porecki was too given his marching orders for collapsing a scrum.
As well as the yellow card, Irish referee Andrew Brace awarded the All Blacks a penalty try and the home side were off and running at 17-0.
Even Koroibete, who has been the Wallabies’ best in 2022, managed to blow an opportunity, with the star winger putting a foot into touch in the process of scoring a try.
Nor did the halftime break help the visitors.
A controversial try to Sam Whitelock, who appeared to lose the ball, gave the home side the perfect start.
Former Wallaby and Stan commentator Morgan Turinui said the officials had “got this one wrong”.
They likely did, but it did not matter with the All Blacks far too good for the clumsy, wasteful, and ill-disciplined Wallabies.
Mo’unga’s second penalty, as well as a try to Codie Taylor saw the home side run out to a 32-0 lead before Folau Fainga’a showed his knack of scoring after the Wallabies finally showed some fine hands after Nick Frost’s charge down.
But Samisoni Taukei’aho’s try in the 65th minute — his third in two matches — saw the All Blacks skip further ahead.
Petaia crossed for a late try but it only helped softened the blow to what was a very one-sided Test.
Will Wallabies finally erase the demons of Eden Park?
The Wallabies laid down a marker in Melbourne with their courageous, rousing and spirited performance in Bledisloe I.
As former representative centre Morgan Turinui said, it was “the best performance by the Wallabies in years”. It was.
Though, as Dave Rennie pointed out on Thursday, “we lost, so we need to go one better”.
But if Rennie’s men do not back up that match by taking it to Ian Foster’s men on Saturday at Eden Park in Auckland, their performance in Melbourne will mean little.
It will, despite Rennie not wanting to entertain that talk earlier this month, be another case of “one step forward and two back”.
Hitherto, the Wallabies have been rugby’s great pretenders.
For two decades they have tried to go toe-for-toe with the All Blacks but when the big moments have arrived, the Wallabies have wallowed.
Eden Park is the All Blacks’ last bastion. It is their fortress — the last remaining graveyard for international opposition.
Ireland, after being blown away in 20 minutes at Eden Park in July, managed to win, firstly, in Dunedin, and, secondly, in Wellington to claim a thrilling series win.
Then Michael Cheika’s Pumas knocked over Foster’s All Blacks in Christchurch in late August.
Now it is Eden Park – a venue at which the All Blacks have not lost since 1994 and not to the Wallabies since 1986 – where James Slipper’s side will attempt to pile more pressure on Foster’s miserable reign over the All Blacks.
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New Zealand’s coach remains under a world of pressure.
The former Chiefs mentor, who failed to win anything during his long tenure at the Super Rugby franchise, has stumbled regularly in the national job since taking over from Steve Hansen following the 2019 World Cup.
It began against Los Pumas in Sydney, where the All Blacks lost for the first time against the South Americans. Since then, the All Blacks have been making history for all the wrong reasons.
It helps explain why Foster was so ungracious, so disingenuous, following the All Blacks’ great escape in Bledisloe I.
How else to describe his reaction when he said the controversial decision by referee Mathieu Raynal, something rarely seen in the game, was “clear cut”?
They were the words of a man pretending he was in control.
The Wallabies have quite rightly been breathing fire since.
But unless they fire a shot at Eden Park, they won’t win the respect of either the Australian public or the rugby world.
Finally, Rennie has delivered one off the field.
He shrewdly went after the Rieko Ioane – the egotistical All Blacks back, who has all the tools to become one of the world’s best – who “mouthed off” at Folau Fainga’a about a perceived “disrespect” regarding the Wallabies’ response to New Zealand’s haka.
Ioane’s comments at the conclusion of the thrilling Test, one where Foster’s men showed some long-lost composure and polish to score out wide, was another example of the arrogance creeping over the once proud All Blacks brand like a growing weed.
He once dropped the ball over the line attempting a one-handed put down and Hansen attempted to wind him back by sending him back to the wing.
He has improved considerably over the past 12 months, but his unnecessary and uneducated comments weren’t missed by the Wallabies.
“I know Rieko Ioane had a lot to say to our boys after the final try, mouthing off at Folau Fainga’a about disrespecting the haka,” Rennie said.
The Wallabies must follow the lead of Rassie Erasmus, the brilliant coach, who inspired the Springboks to a remarkable victory in Wellington in 2018 after threatening to resign had they lost.
The win was the catalyst for their surge to World Cup glory, even though they lost to the All Blacks soon after in a nailbiter on home soil.
Saturday, at Eden Park, must be the moment the Wallabies grab the bull by the horns and stand up for their future. The Bledisloe Cup might be gone, but an Eden Park hoodoo must be ended.
If they do that, they will prove to themselves as much as anyone else they are a rugby force.
Until then, they will continue to be belittled by Foster’s All Blacks.
Everybody can appreciate the growing depth on Australian shores. The Wallabies pushed the All Blacks without their regular captain Michael Hooper, Samu Kerevi, Quade Cooper, Taniela Tupou, Tom Banks, Rory Arnold and Will Skelton.
Others such as Tate McDermott, Kurtley Beale, Suliasi Vunivalu and even Tolu Latu, who has the potential to emerge as world class once more, were not selected.
Raynal’s howler should not mask the Wallabies’ performance at Marvel Stadium last week.
The All Blacks blew three tries either side of halftime. The Wallabies were slow out of the blocks and failed to win two kick restarts. Their discipline was horrible and they did not close out the match.
But they showed a resilience seldom seen during Cheika’s latter years in charge. They overturned an 18-point lead midway through the second half and did not let three yellow cards derail their effort.
They also attacked with precision. Bernard Foley was the first Wallabies playmaker this year to take on the defensive line.
More than anything, their fight showed character that will be needed at Eden Park. They will have to match the physicality of the All Blacks to stand a chance.
The last time the Wallabies had a point to prove in Sydney, they were smashed at the collision and set-piece by the Boks. It is why standing up at Eden Park represents a line-in-the-sand moment.
“While we’re disappointed we’re not going to Eden Park with a chance of winning the Bledisloe Cup, it’s a fairly big game for the All Blacks still with a Rugby Championship crown up for grabs,” Rennie said. “So we’re taking the game very seriously. It’s a big match for us. It’s a big match for them.”
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Originally published as Bledisloe Cup: Wallabies punished for woeful errors as All Blacks ensure Eden Park hoodoo lives on